Women and girls continue to pay a high price for the war in Sudan. Millions have been driven from their homes, and the country is facing the worst levels of food insecurity ever recorded. Since the onset of the rainy season, floods have further fueled misery across the country and raised the risk of disease outbreaks as reports of cholera cases increase.

The ongoing conflict has stripped women and girls of everything they need to survive – food, medical support and shelter. Less than a quarter of health facilities in states affected by the fighting are functional. Facilities have been destroyed, looted, and are struggling with staff shortages and an acute lack of essential medicines and supplies. Those that remain operational are overwhelmed by the influx of people seeking care, many of whom are internally displaced, straining the country’s health system to its very limits. Most women and girls in areas affected by heavy fighting have no access to the reproductive health and protection services they desperately need.

Harrowing levels of violence, including rape, kidnappings and forced and child marriage, continue to take an unacceptable toll on women and girls, creating an environment of fear for those with little recourse to services, support or justice. 

UNFPA is working with partners to provide life-saving reproductive health and protection services in areas with high numbers of internally displaced people. This includes deploying mobile teams and supplies to build capacity for maternal health, including emergency obstetric care, and for the clinical management of rape, as well as supporting safe spaces.

Updated on 3 September 2024